Environment & Energy
Related: About this forumScientists Find Evidence Of Prehistoric Solar Storm 10X Stronger Than The 1859 Carrington Event
The night sky lit up so bright that some people thought it was morning. Gold miners in the Rocky Mountains woke up at 1 a.m. to make breakfast and start their day. Birds began singing as if the sun had already risen. Telegraph systems worldwide went offline, and no one could send a message.
That event in 1859, known as the Carrington Event, has long been thought of as the benchmark for the most intense geomagnetic storm observed on Earth, sending northern lights displays as far south as Florida and Central America and knocking out communication systems. But now, new research has unveiled evidence of a much larger solar storm that could reset record books.
In a study released Monday, researchers identified what appears to be the largest solar storm to hit Earth, estimated to be larger than the Carrington Event by an order of magnitude. The storm occurred 14,300 years ago, but is evidence of a yet unknown dimension of the suns extreme behavior and hazards to Earth. Its clear that if one of these events [occurred] today
this would be quite destructive on our energy network and also internet network, said Edouard Bard, lead author of the study. This would really freeze, in fact, all communications and [travel] would be totally disrupted.
Unlike the Carrington storm, the 14,300-year-old event does not have ground reports of bright, dancing lights or changes in animal behavior. Instead, scientists found traces of the solar storm in ancient tree rings in the French Alps and ice cores in Greenland.
EDIT
https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2023/10/11/largest-solar-storm-research-earth/
multigraincracker
(32,688 posts)I keep in a metal box. Dont know if will do me any good if it happens, but it didnt cost me much.
MiHale
(9,734 posts)There would be nothing to pick up. No radio transmissions.
multigraincracker
(32,688 posts)Some ham radio guy might be on.
DBoon
(22,369 posts)The ham radio guy will be cursing that damn solar flare for blacking out everything
Now tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, floods - it is perfect
multigraincracker
(32,688 posts)All modern cars have too much electronics and will be dead.
MiHale
(9,734 posts)Since the OP link is behind walls.
https://www.sciencealert.com/giant-solar-storm-14000-years-ago-leaves-the-carrington-event-in-the-dust
My understanding is that all electrical grids would be fried. Sci-fi has a little love affair with this scenario, there have been many stories with total grid wipeout as a starting point. Whatever the reality would be it would be brutal. We depend on electricity in some form for most of our daily lives.
There was an equipment failure the other day here in Hale, the town was out of electricity for approximately an hour and a half, whatta mess. It wasnt even a destructive failure, cell tower went down, no internet, stores couldnt ring up anything, gas pumps didnt work. Thank god we only have the one stop light and traffic was still slightly hazardous at the intersection.
90 minutes to make you realize how fragile it all is.
multigraincracker
(32,688 posts)Big metro areas will be hell.
machoneman
(4,007 posts)LittleGirl
(8,287 posts)hatrack
(59,587 posts)Last edited Wed Oct 11, 2023, 10:25 AM - Edit history (1)
IIRC, such infrastructure runs parallel to the magnetic field lines. There was a major failure in Quebec's electrical grid in 1989 induced by a CME - 6 million people lost power.
Plenty of other interesting projections in the report below (not crazy long or technical):
https://www.pnnl.gov/main/publications/external/technical_reports/PNNL-21033.pdf
DBoon
(22,369 posts)AllaN01Bear
(18,261 posts)probably wont do any good if the radio stations are fried .
multigraincracker
(32,688 posts)My 5 band emergency radio can use batteries and has a hand crank that runs for almost an hour before you have to crank it up again. I think I paid less than $50 for it.
I also have have a large stash of candles.
Otto_Harper
(509 posts)With an event 10X of the Carrington event, electronic components will be destroyed. Not just IN things, but even just on a shelf, uninstalled. The same with circuit boards. The same with complete units. Hence, while there may some stragglers here and there, such as your crank radio in the metal box, we would be essentially wiped clean of electronics.
multigraincracker
(32,688 posts)saving us until production can start up again. Our last best hope.
Otto_Harper
(509 posts)Listen - The Ham radios (of which I own numerous) will be as unlikely to survive such an event as any other modern electronics based on integrated circuits or semiconductor technology. I own a number of vacuum tube antiques which are now relegated to displpay models, but, even if these could be coaxed back into operation, just whom, specifically do you think they will be talking to.
Please, identify just what communications pathways and networks they will be able to connect to. Don't just wave your hands in the air and say "Ham Radio". That's wishful thinking, not a plan.
HuskyOffset
(889 posts)If not, I don't think it will do any good.
Otto_Harper
(509 posts)If the box is configured to operate as a proper Faraday cage, the contents do stand a chance of surviving the event.
HuskyOffset
(889 posts)For some reason, I always thought they had to be grounded. It is a good idea to ground them, for safety purposes, but strictly speaking, not required. See this Wikipedia article.
If I hear that the big CME (Coronal Mass Ejection) is on the way, I'm going to put my cell phone & anything else that will fit into my microwave, since the interior is a Faraday shield/cage. I need to make my computer room into a giant Faraday shield, I should start a $100k GoFundMe or something.